SS Venture
The SS Venture is primarily a support ship, with a healing and debuff ability. However it also has a large amount of firepower in the form of its proton torpedoes. The SS is a very appealing ship for those who prefer to play a more passive role on the team. It is also good for those looking to collect B! due to several Achievements being activated by healing. Loadout Last Updated 8/12 Phase Beam Locks a damaging beam onto a nearby enemy. The Phase Beam is a rapid firing laser which locks on your nearest target (either a drone or another player). It is very similar to the lasers fired by the small drones, except it fires much more frequently. The phase beam is rather weak at low levels (which can make your first level up tough), but gains a bit more punch at higher levels (though not as much as Proton Vorpedoes). It is useful for hitting enemies who have low health left, killing opponents where you might not have been able to with Proton Vorpedoes (for example, when chasing them). Proton Vorpedoes Atomic Explosions contained within VORP shells. Proton Vorpedoes are large glowing balls of energy which home in on the closest enemy (either a drone or a player). As an SS Player, they are your main source of damage. They can stack up to three for very strong burst potential (if all of the Vorpedoes hit the enemy). The longer they travel before hitting an enemy, the more damage they do (though they are much more likely to hit an enemy from closer up). While not necessarily strong initially as a weapon, you can fire them from long range with little to no risk of dying. Fully upgraded, they pack a powerful punch that can usually destroy 1/3 to 1/2 of an opponent's health. They have a decently long recharge time, so it is recommended you go into fights with the Vorpedoes fully charged. For several ways to make using Vorpedoes even more effective, check out the Tips and Tricks section of this article. Revorperator Distributes energy recharge to nearby friendlies. The Revorperator is a powerful heal which gives you and nearby allies energy. This move is especially valuable considering you can heal while still moving, unlike the Iron Wolf's heal, which force you to stay still. Allies in the range of your healing will be connected by beams of light to your ship, easily showing you who your heal is effecting. The Revorperator is perhaps the entire reason why the SS is such a good ship. It is an extremely powerful ability in teamfights, often deciding who will kill whom. Even while not healing allies, this move often lets the SS escape dangerous situations that would kill other ships. That isn't to say it is perfect; late game DPS of other ships is often higher than the Revorperator's heal. However, it still proves a powerful lifeline for a ship that would otherwise be rather fragile. Dispersal Shields Energy shields that partially deflect incoming attacks. Dispersal Shields is an interesting ability which both gives you a powerful shield to absorb a percentage of damage, and debuffs nearby enemies to take more damage. It has somewhat shorter range than the Revorperator, but hits enemies immediately upon use. As an ability, particularly an 'R' ability (which are usually rather strong abilities), it is either very weak, or very strong, depending on the situation. The ability is particularly weak when you are on low HP (because the shield is percentage based), or when enemies are out of range of the debuff (because then half of the ability is useless). However, when used in a teamfight, when you are facing a group of enemies with allies, this move is invaluable. Enemies will die much more quickly with the debuff on them, and considering the debuff applies to all enemies in the radius, this can be devastating to the opposing team. And the extra damage reduction to yourself allows you to stay alive longer versus ships with higher DPS than you. Note however, you should not just go and use Dispersal Shield on any group of enemies, as it does no damage to them; it just makes other abilities do more damage. Because of this, having teammates is pretty critical for good use of the ability (unless you are running away, and are using the shield to escape). Hull As the SS is rather fragile, Hull upgrades really improve it's staying power. Upgrade Ordering Early Game There are several ways you can effectively upgrade the SS Venture. Both of the usual upgrade sequences prioritize 'W' (Proton Vorpedoes) and 'E' (The Revorpertator), but upgrade slightly differently. For Early Damage: W -> W -> E -> W -> E -> E. This build prioritizes your Vorpedos damage over your Revorperator's healing. A point in Healing still has to be taken at Upgrade 3 (the game doesn't allow you to have a level 3 ability at Upgrade 3), but mainly the build focuses on damage. After that, the revorperator is leveled up next. This build is good when you fee like you don't need the healing very much, and it plays more aggressively than the second build. For Early Healing: E -> W -> W -> E -> W -> E. This build prioritizes the Revorperator's healing over the Vorpedoes damage. Because of this, you will be primarily a support ship; Vorpedoes don't get truly 'dangerous' until they are level 3. However, sometimes that is precisely what your team needs; a ship focused very much on supportive healing. Because of all of this, this ship is much more passive than the first build. You should use this build based on if your team needs it. Otherwise, the first build is usually better. Late Game R -> Hull -> Hull -> Hull -> Q -> Q -> Q -> R -> R. Well, now that we have fully upgraded the Proton Vorpedoes and Revorperator, we need to figure out what to do with everything else. Generally, the recommendation is to put one point in 'R' (Dispersal Shields), and then upgrade your Hull (because the SS is a rather fragile ship believe it or not). After that, 'Q' (Phase Beam) is usually upgraded for the extra damage which you kind of need, but R (Dispersal Shields) can be upgraded instead if you find your team getting in a lot of teamfights. Ultimately, you should end up with every option upgraded, unless you kill the core first (which happens more often than not). Tips & Tricks Category:Ships Category:SS Venture